Thursday, October 25, 2012

Emotional Intelligence and Wellness Month

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By Diane Forrest

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I have been having a string of bad luck lately when it
comes to Home Owners Insurance. If you have
ever been canceled by an insurance company, then you will know how difficult it
is to get more insurance. If you are
able to find another company, then you will more than likely be charged more
than you have been paying. I was
canceled by my company three years ago.
Apparently they just want you to pay for it, not actually use the
insurance. Since I had three small
claims in five years, they decided to drop me. Luckily I found another company,
and was paying the same amount, so it works out. In August I got a letter from them saying
they were dropping me. I had never made
a claim, however they said my roof and electrical wiring was too old. Seeing as how they were both recently
replaced, I sent them the information and they not only reinstated my policy,
but I got an even lower rate. When I
went online to pay my bill this morning, I discovered that my policy had in
fact been terminated. I wasn't too
worried, since I just chalked it up to bookkeeping records. So...I call the customer service and learned
that I had in fact been canceled, because they no longer covered homes in my
state. Well as you can imagine, I lost
it. Not only was my policy gone, but
that was my second insurance cancellation and the prospects of finding new
insurance was bleak. My stress level hit
the roof.

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Stress is running high for alot of people this month, the
presidential elections coming up, stress from lost jobs, increases in bills,
gas and food. There is an increase in
violent crimes and other catastrophes. I
was just reading about another mall shooting killing four and injured another four. The headlines this morning stated a 10 year
old girl was heading to court this morning on manslaughter charges. All these issues increase your body's level
of stress tolerance.

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This month we are looking at Emotional Intelligence and
Wellness. 'Emotional intelligence'
refers to the ability to identify and cope with emotions on oneself and
others. 'Emotional wellness' refers to
happiness and resilience as well as the absence of distressing emotional issues
and the presence of healthy coping techniques.
There are several coping mechanisms to help you deal with stress. As many of you know, laughter is the best medicine. It is healthy to be able to laugh at the
things that bother you, and if you tuned into the vice presidential debates, I
think that Joe Biden uses that method as well.
Crying is another form of release of stress. Sometimes there is nothing better than a good
cry to wash your troubles away.

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According to emotional intelligence experts Peter Salovey
and John D. Mayer, there are a few different factors that comprise emotional
intelligence.

The
first is an ability to accurately perceive emotions, which includes both your
own emotions and the emotions of other people.

A
second factor is an ability to understand these emotions. It may be one thing
to identify that someone is experiencing an emotion, but it is also important
to understand the possible meanings and causes behind that feeling.

Third
is the ability to use emotions in reasoning. Research has shown that emotions
have a major impact on how we think, including how we prioritize and attend to
information.

The
final factor is the ability to regulate and effectively manage emotions.
Salovey and Mayer suggest that seeking out mood-enhancing situations, people
and experiences are a few methods that can be used to regulate emotions.

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In
July of this year, Judi England wrote an interesting article titled “Four Room”
that helps one better understand Emotional Intelligence and Wellness. This
quote came from part one of the four part article.

“There is an Indian
proverb or axiom that says that everyone is a house with four rooms, a
physical, a mental, an emotional, and a spiritual. Most of us tend to live in
one room most of the time but, unless we go into every room every day, even if
only to keep it aired, we are not a complete person. ” – Rumer Godden, “A House with Four Rooms”

If you are bogged down, and disheartened about the
current situations in your life, the important thing is to: 1) Recognize there
is a problem, and 2) Seek help. If
laughing or crying doesn't make you feel better, try talking it out with a
friend, family member, pastor, or professional.
Unless the problems are dealt with or resolved, they will build up and
cause an even bigger problem.